Weigh, Loughton to miss Marlins action

THE Marlins are planning to be without veteran Taipans pair Stephen Weigh and Alex Loughton in the short-term.

Weigh is yet to play a game this season for the defending champion QBL club, sitting out with a minor prestress frac- ture in his foot. The small-forward had an MRI on his foot this week with Marlins coach Jamie Pearlman not expecting to see Weigh in Marlins colours for around three or four weeks.

Loughton, signed as an injury replacement for Weigh, will miss the Marlins Sunshine Coast double-header next weekend but could return the following round, depending on Weigh’s progress.

The star pair’s unavailability will give more opportunities to the likes of Micheal Demertze, Matthew Mulligan and Ryan Runnalls.

“I have said to our guys, take Al and Stevie out of the picture for now, this is our group,” Pearlman said.

“This is the mentality we need to go into this period of time without these guys and if something changes, that is great but if it does not, this is our group.

“I have been very happy with Matt Mulligan, he has come in and played a support role from the bench with around 10 minutes.

“It gives the opportunity to other guys and we are looking forward to that Sunshine Coast trip.”

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David ran at the New York Marathon as part of the Indigenous Marathon Project and recently completed the Paris Marathon.

“Harriet, from the 2015 squad, had her return to community presentation at the hotel where I worked and I thought, ‘I could do that, too’,” Stephens said.

“I joined her running group a few weeks after that and I have been doing it since.

“I tried out in March of this year with a 5km run and I was lucky enough to get selected.”

Seriat, a single mum with two children, is also studying midwifery on top of her running workload.

“I am looking forward to this journey, it is a lot of commitment,” Seriat said. “It is an honour to be a part of the Indigenous Marathon Project.”

It will be a hectic 2017 for Stephens and Seriat with a trip to Canberra later this month followed by trips to Uluru, the Gold Coast, Sydney and Alice Springs.

Each member of the squad must also complete a compulsory Cert IV in Community Recreation, Run Coaching qualification and CPR and First Aid Certificate, which they must pass in order to be eligible to run the New York City Marathon in November.